China Enforces Mandatory Abortion Law

The picture that caused a national protest on abortions. Mother and aborted baby.

Feng Jianmei, 23, a mother with a small child in China was seven months pregnant when her dilemma began and went viral.

China has a not so subtle one child policy law to limit population growth. Feng already had a five year old girl, and the second was also a girl. Girls are less value in this society. Yet, Feng fought to have the baby but when she was told that the birth would cost $6300, essentially, a fine, the province of Shaanxi, near Beijing, intervened. They told her pay or abort at seven months. Aborting at this late stage is never recommended.

Unable to afford it, but wanting the baby, the dilemma continued until during one visit to the local hospital, authorities seized her and conducted the abortion. The aborted baby images were smuggled out and posted on the Internet. This is when outrage of the incident went national. Embarrassed, the Chinese government sacked the head of the Family Planning unit and other doctors that were only enforcing the policy. Obviously, it became a public relations issue.

Feng is still in the hospital not allowed to leave for authorities fear she will continue to go public about this. Her husband is missing after he tried to smuggle her out. Her cell phone has been turned off. All this still has not quelled protests outside in the province and in other places.

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